Mercedes Benz intros CNG engines for Mercs in India

28 May, 2008

The Indian tarmac is getting the new feel of a new Merc. Luxury brand Mercedes-Benz has introduces a new CNG-complaint engine in India.

The new CNG variant is capable of running over 20 km on a kg of CNG against its petrol sibling which guzzles a litre for every 12 km. In practise, that means a Mercedes Benz car in India with CNG engine is more fuel efficient and much, much cheaper to run compared to even a Maruti 800 - and possibly even the Tata Nano when it launches!

Which cars would the CNG engines be available on? Strangely, there has been no clarity on this. The press release just said that there would be CNG engines - we can guess that they would therefor make their way, surely, to the C-Class Mercs in India, as well as the E-Class.

Merc’s India operations are getting more of CNG thrust as it has realized the energy crisis and the possibilities of a fuel price hike are disturbing aspects. The German automaker has already imported a couple of CNG-compatible cars in Delhi and Mumbai.

Mercedes-Benz is even planning to bring its globally-successful CNG sedans to India. The company has already launched its B class B170 NGT and the E 200 CNG sedans in the US and Europe and plans to extend them to India. For its new CNG range in India, Mercedes is banking on institutional sales where vehicles ply largely on CNG technology.

Mercedes Benz may also bring in the bio-diesel option on the E Class saloon for India. The company which has already sold 2,491 cars in 2007, has seen almost 50 per cent rise in sales to 1,330 cars during the first four months of 2008. Now with the CNG versions being introduced, the company expects more numbers.

Talking of going green, BMW is also looking at bringing its clean hydrogen technology, which runs on water and emits only steam.. Reports added that the high-tech BMW Hydrogen 7 comes about as an expensive technology. However, experts have pointed out that there is a potential for alternative fuels in India as days go by. The country’s roads would see more of green as CNG and similar fuel catch up.